Download Biomass The total mass of living plants, animals, bacteria and fungi

1 Chapter 2: Energy Flow and Nutrient Cycles Biomass
The total mass of living
plants, animals, bacteria and
fungi in a given area
Energy flow
The flow of energy from an
ecosystem to an organism as well
as from one organism to another
Producers
Plants that produce food
Consumers
An animal that eats another
organism
Decomposition
The breaking down of organic
wastes and dead animals
2 Chapter 2: Energy Flow and Nutrient Cycles Biodegradation
The action of living organisms
breaking down dead organic
matter
Decomposers
Organisms that break down
wastes and dead organisms
into usable nutrients
Food chain
Shows the flow of energy
from plant to animal and
animal to animal
Trophic level
Each step in a food chain
Primary Producers
Plants and algae that produce
food from sunlight
3 Chapter 2: Energy Flow and Nutrient Cycles Primary consumers
Obtain their energy by
consuming plants (ex:
grasshopper)
Secondary consumers
Obtain their energy by eating
primary consumers (ex:
frogs)
Tertiary consumers
Obtain their energy by eating
secondary consumers (ex:
hawks)
Detrivores
Consumers that get their energy
by consuming dead animals, dead
plants and animal wastes (ex:
earthworms)
Herbivores
Primary consumers that only
eat plants
4 Chapter 2: Energy Flow and Nutrient Cycles Carnivores
Consumers that eat only
other animals
Omnivores
Consumers that eat both
plants and animals
Food Web
Show the feeding
relationships in an ecosystem
Food pyramid
A model that shows the loss of energy
from one trophic level to another
(there is a loss of 90% of the energy
from one level to another)
Ecological pyramid
Can show changes in biomass,
number or energy as in a food
pyramid
5 Chapter 2: Energy Flow and Nutrient Cycles Stores
Nutrient cycles
Carbon can be found where?
Sedimentation
Carbonate
The accumulation of
nutrients
The continuous flow of
nutrients into and out of
stores
Living things
Atmosphere – CO2
Dissolved as CO2 in the ocean
Coal, oil and gas deposits
Sedimentary rock
The laying down of layers to
create sedimentary rock
Carbon and oxygen that is
dissolved in ocean water – in
shells. Can form into
limestone
6 Chapter 2: Energy Flow and Nutrient Cycles What is the equation for
photosynthesis?
What is the equation for
cellular respiration?
What are the (natural) ways
carbon can be cycled? (You
can use your data booklet)
How do humans affect the
carbon cycle?
How is nitrogen stored?
Energy + 6CO2 + 6H2O 
C6H12O6 + 6 O2
C6H12O6 + O2  6CO2 + 6 H2O
+ energy
Photosynthesis
Cellular respiration
Volcanoes
Forest fires
Decaying organisms
Sediments
Burning fossil fuels
Driving cars and trucks
Clearing land
Mostly in the atmosphere but
also in the oceans and in
organic matter in the soil
7 Chapter 2: Energy Flow and Nutrient Cycles Nitrogen fixation
Nitrogen-fixing bacteria
Nitrification
Nitrifying bacteria
Denitrification
When nitrogen gas (N2) is
converted to usable nitrogen
forms (lightning and bacteria)
Bacteria that can change
nitrogen gas (N2) to useable
nitrogen (found on the roots
of bean plants for example)
When ammonia (NH4+) is
changed to NO3- that plants
can use.
Bacteria that can change
ammonia (NH4+) to NO3- that
plants can use.
When nitrogen is returned to
the atmosphere
8 Chapter 2: Energy Flow and Nutrient Cycles Denitrifying bacteria
How do humans affect the
nitrogen cycle?
Where is phosphorous
stored?
Weathering
Geologic uplift
Bacteria that can change
nitrate (NO3-) back into
nitrogen gas (N2)
Release of NO and NO2 due to burning of
fossil fuels
Sewage treatment
Clearing forests and grasslands
Use of chemical fertilizers – results in
eutrophication (algal blooms)
Trapped in phosphate that
makes up phosphate rock and
sediments
Breaking down of rock into
smaller pieces (releases P)
Mountain building in which
buried layers of sediment are
exposed
9 Chapter 2: Energy Flow and Nutrient Cycles How have humans affected
the phosphorous cycle?
Fertilizer and detergents
Animals wastes from large farms
Can cause algal blooms
Clearing of forests through slash
and burn
Pesticides
Chemicals used to kill pests
(such as insecticides and
herbicides)
Bioaccumulation
Gradual build-up of synthetic and
organic chemicals in living
organisms
Keystone Species
Species that greatly affect
population numbers and
health in an ecosystem (ex:
salmon)
Biomagnification
When chemicals become more
concentrated in each trophic
level
10 Chapter 2: Energy Flow and Nutrient Cycles PCBs
Half-life
Persistent Organic Pollutants
DDT
ppm
Synthetic chemicals used
from 1930 to 1970 that have
a negative impact on animals
The time it takes for a
substance to decrease by
half
Carbon containing compounds
that remain in the water and
soil for many years
A POP that was used as an insecticide
to kill mosquitoes. Causes disorders of
the nervous, immune and reproductive
systems
A way to measure chemicals –
parts per million
11 Chapter 2: Energy Flow and Nutrient Cycles Heavy metals
Metallic elements with high
density that are harmful at low
concentrations – they cannot
degrade or be destroyed.
Dangers of lead
(insecticides, paints, gasoline,
electronics)
Absorbed through the skin, inhaled and
eaten – caused anemia, damage to the
nervous system, impaired mental
development, kidney failure and
reproductive problems
Dangers of cadmium
(cigarettes, rechargeable
batteries, zinc production)
Most common poisoning is through
smoking. Also through eating
mushrooms, seaweed… Causes nervous
system problem and also affects the
immune system and DNA
Dangers of mercury
(coal burning, waste burning,
batteries)
Mainly through eating. Affects
nerve cells, the heart, kidneys,
lungs, suppresses the immune
system
Bioremediation
The use of living things to
clean up pollution